PAGE TITLE HEAD COACH RONNIE ARROW HEAD COACH RONNIE ARROW Southwest Texas State ’69 13th Season 323-235 overall, 189-144 at South Alabama In his second go-around at the school monic Tilford, and the Jaguars led the conference in four categories. where he began his Division I coaching career in 1987, head coach Ronnie Arrow The 2009-10 season was a monumental one as Arrow eclipsed three major career mile- has not skipped a beat. In his fi fth sea- stones. He became the school’s all time wins leader on Jan. 16, surpassing Cliff Ellis’s son since his return to South Alabama in record of 171 victories. Arrow’s 300th win as a Division I coach came in grand style Nov. 2007, Arrow has already posted two 20- 29 at Arkansas, the fi rst of two triumphs against SEC opponents, and his 600th win at win campaigns and earned a trip to the all college levels was an 83-67 home victory over Alcorn State. NCAA Tournament. He passed another milestone the next season by becoming the third coach in league Now entering his 13th overall season at USA, Arrow holds a 189-144 record with three history to record 100 conference wins. Already South Alabama’s career leader in SBC NCAA Tournament appearances and three Sun Belt Conference crowns. He fi rst guided wins with 102, Arrow needs two league victories to move into second place and 10 to the Jaguars from 1987-94, posting a 114-93 (55.1%) record in the eight-year stint. become the Sun Belt’s all-time leader.

An accomplished coach at both the Division A major bright spot for the 2010-11 season I and junior college level for 30 years, Ar- was the development of Augustine Rubit, row has accumulated a combined 625-278 who enjoyed one of the best freshman mark at South Alabama, Texas A&M-Corpus campaigns in school history. Rubit became Christi and San Jacinto Junior College. In- South Alabama’s second-ever Sun Belt cluded in that total are three junior college Freshman of the Year after ranking sixth in national championships and four trips to Division I and fi rst among freshmen in re- the NCAA Tournament. bounding (11.0). Rubit was named to two freshman All-America teams in addition to A three-time Sun Belt Coach of the Year, being the fi rst USA frosh to earn all-Sun Belt Arrow ranks third all-time among Sun Belt honors. coaches in league wins and has just three losing seasons in league play in his long Prior to his return to USA, Arrow compiled career. a 134-91 (59.6%) mark at TAMU-CC in- cluding three straight 20-win seasons in After leading Texas A&M-Corpus Christi to his last three years with the program. In its fi rst-ever NCAA Tournament appear- addition to guiding the Islanders to the ance in 2007, Arrow returned to South NCAA Tournament in 2007, he led them to Alabama and promptly guided the Jaguars a school-record 26-7 fi nish and the South- to a school-record 26 victories, the Sun Belt land Conference title their fi rst year in the Conference East Division title and a berth league, earning coach-of-the-year honors in the NCAA postseason. For his eff orts, he for his work. was selected the Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year for the third time in his career. Long before the Islanders threatened No. 2 seed Wisconsin in the national tournament, Arrow wasn’t the only individual recognized they made a name for themselves defeat- in the program, though, as he helped De- ing the likes of South Florida out of the Big metric Bennett (First Team), Daon Merritt East Conference and Texas Christian of the (Second Team), Brandon Davis and Do- Mountain West for the second straight sea- monic Tilford (both Third Team) earn All- son in 2005-06. Despite a one-point loss to Sun Belt accolades after the Jags fi nished Big 12 Conference member Missouri on its 16-2 in league action. In addition, he and home court, Arrow brought the Islanders Bennett were honored by the National As- from the ground up to become a contender sociation of Basketball Coaches (NABC) with schools from the power conferences. — Arrow was the organization’s District 6 Coach of the Year while Bennett was a First Team All-District choice. In 2004, Arrow put TAMU-CC on the national map as it defeated Florida State 70-67 in Tallahassee and followed with an upset win over Old Dominion, handing the Monarchs Arrow and the Jaguars followed that up with a 20-13 campaign in 2008-09 and ad- one of their fi ve losses that season. In addition to those victories, Arrow’s Islanders vanced to the SBC Tournament championship game. The team fi nished strong, winning defeated Texas Tech, Texas A&M and 2004 NCAA Tournament qualifi er Murray State. eight of its last 10 and knocking off the No. 3 and No. 2 seeds before falling to top- seeded Western Kentucky. Arrow took over the Islanders in 1998 when the school moved to Division I, fi nishing with six seasons with a .500 or better record while guiding the school to a regular-sea- Three players earned all-Sun Belt honors: Brandon Davis, DeAndré Coleman and Do- son and tournament championship in their only season in the Southland Conference.

2011-12 South Alabama Men’s Basketball >> 24 HEAD COACH RONNIE ARROW

Before moving to Texas A&M- Corpus Christi, Arrow knew all THE ARROW FILE about rising from the ashes. COLLEGE EXPERIENCE At the end of the 1990-91 South Alabama (12 years) season at USA, he was named 1987-94, 2007- ...... 189-144 (.568) the Sun Belt Coach of the Year Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (eight years) for the second time after en- 1999-07 ...... 134-91 (.596) CAREER TOTAL (20 years) ...... 323-235 (.579) gineering the most dramatic turnaround in league history. JUNIOR COLLEGE EXPERIENCE That year, his Jaguars became San Jacinto Junior College (10 years) the fi rst SBC squad ever to 1977-87 ...... 302-43 (.875) leap from last to fi rst place in a CAREER TOTAL (30 years) ...... 625-278 (.692) single season. Picked to fi nish ASSISTANT COACHING EXPERIENCE fi fth in the conference, South San Jacinto Junior College (two years) Alabama went on to capture 1975-77 the league crown with an 11-3 Sam Houston State (two years) mark. 1970-72 HIGH SCHOOL EXPERIENCE The Jags, who fi nished the Pasadena (Texas) High School (three years) The Arrow Family: Eddie, Ailey and Ansley Shirazi, Nelda and Ronnie season with a 22-9 record, 1972-75 swept through the conference tournament and advanced to PLAYING EXPERIENCE the NCAA Tournament before falling to Utah in a fi rst-round tilt. Southwest Texas State (three years) 1966-69 (guard)

In 1987, Arrow took over at South Alabama for Mike Hanks as the school’s fi fth head coach. During his time in Mobile, EDUCATION he led the Jags to two NCAA Tournaments, including a thrilling 86-84 win over Alabama in the fi rst round of the 1989 Southwest Texas State NCAA Tournament — still the school’s only victory in the event — in just his second season at the helm. South Ala- B.S., Health & Physical Education, 1969 bama lost to eventual national champion Michigan in the second round and fi nished the season with a 23-9 record. Sam Houston State M.S., Education, 1972 Arrow was named Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year after winning conference regular-season and tournament titles. HONORS NABC District 6 Coach of the Year Over the years, Arrow has developed a reputation in the collegiate basketball circles for up-tempo, high-scoring teams. 2008 His squads led the SBC in scoring four of his fi rst seven seasons at USA. His 1988-89 squad set a school and league Conference Coach of the Year record with a 91 points-per-game average, and fi ve of his seven teams tallied at least 80 points per outing. Sun Belt — 1989, 1991, 2008 Southland — 2007 NJCAA National Coach of the Year Prior to South Alabama, Arrow served as head coach at San Jacinto Junior College from 1977-87. He tallied an impres- 1983, 1986 sive 302-43 (87.5%) record and guided the Ravens to 10 TJCAC titles, as well as NJCAA championships in 1983, ’84 NJCAA Region XIV Coach of the Year and ’86. He was tabbed the NJCAA Region XIV Coach of the Year in 1983, ’84, ’86, ’87, and the National Coach of the 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987 Year in 1983 and 1986. His 1985-86 squad led the nation National Independent Coach of the Year 2000, 2005 in scoring, averaging 101 points per game. NATIONAL TITLES In junior college, Arrow coached several players who went 1983 NJCAA on to enjoy careers in the National Basketball Association: 1984 NJCAA Walter Berry, Alton Lister, Ladell Eackles and Larry Spriggs. 1986 NJCAA Additionally, he led the 1989 United States Junior World CONFERENCE TITLES Cup Team to the gold medal in Uruguay with future NBA 2008 Sun Belt (East Division) stars Grant Hill, Calbert Cheaney and Allan Houston. 2007 Southland 1991 Sun Belt Arrow was a two-year all-Lone Star Conference honoree 1989 Sun Belt and a three-year letterman at Southwest Texas State. After PLAYER HONORS graduating from STS (now Texas State) with a bachelor’s Two honorable mention All-Americans degree in health and physical education in 1969, he began Three Independent Players of the Year his coaching career by serving as a graduate assistant at Two all-region selections Sam Houston State. Four all-district selections Two conference Players of the Year One conference Freshman of the Year He moved on to coach Pasadena High School during the One conference Defensive Player of the Year 1972-73 season, capturing District 23-4A Coach-of-the- 21 all-conference selections Year honors. PERSONAL Arrow and his wife, Nelda, have one adult daughter, Ailey, Married to the former Nelda Myers One adult daughter, Ailey and one granddaughter, Ansley, born May 20, 2010. One granddaughter, Ansley

2011-12 South Alabama Men’s Basketball >> 25 THE ARROW FILE

Career Highlights JAGUARS HONORED BY THE SUN BELT UNDER RONNIE ARROW • Led USA to NCAA Tournament in second season and a fi rst-round win over Alabama in 1989 All-Sun Belt Conference • Started basketball program at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and guided the Islanders to three 1988 ...... Jeff odge,H 1st straight 20-win seasons and an NCAA Tournament appearance ...... Junie Lewis, 2nd • South Alabama’s 26 victories in 2007-08 are the most in school history 1989 ...... Jeff odge,H 1st • Won three NJCAA national titles at San Jacinto College ...... Junie Lewis, 2nd • Named Coach of the Year of the Sun Belt Conference three times and the Southland Confer- 1991 ...... Kevin McDaniels, 2nd ence once 1992 ...... Samuel Hines • Took USA from worst to fi rst in the SBC and the NCAA Tournament in 1991, earning coach- 1993 ...... Cedric Yelding of-the-year honors 1994 ...... Anthony Foster • Jaguars averaged school and league-record 91 points in 1988-89 2008 ...... Demetric Bennett, 1st ...... Daon Merritt, 2nd Sun Belt Coaching Wins — career ...... Brandon Davis, 3rd 1. Gene Bartow (UAB, 1979-91) ...... 111 ...... Domonic Tilford, 3rd 2. Dickey Nutt (ASU, 1996-08) ...... 103 2009 ...... Brandon Davis, 2nd 3. Ronnie Arrow (USA, 1987-95, 2007- )...... 102 ...... Domonic Tilford, 2nd 4. Jessie Evans (ULL, 1998-04) ...... 77 ...... DeAndré Coleman, 3rd 5. Marty Fletcher (ULL 1991-97; DU 2000-01) ...... 66 2010 ...... Tim Williams, 2nd 2011 ...... Augustine Rubit, 3rd South Alabama Coaching Wins — career 1 Ronnie Arrow (1987-95, 2007-) ...... 189 Tournament Most Valuable Player 2. Cliff Ellis (1975-84) ...... 171 1989 ...... Jeff Hodge 3. Bob Weltlich (1997-02) ...... 81 4. John Pelphrey (2002-07)...... 80 All-Freshman Team (1985-91) 5. Jimmy Taylor (1970-75) ...... 76 1988 ...... Michael Hurring 1989 ...... Derek Turner Milestone Division I Wins for Head Coach Ronnie Arrow 1 ...... 101-90 vs. Alabama State (12/8/87) Freshman of the Year (1979-present) 38 ...... 86-84 vs. Alabama (3/17/89) - NCAA Tournament 2011 ...... Augustine Rubit 50 ...... 90-75 vs. Jackson State (11/27/90) 100 ...... 87-78 vs. Louisiana at Lafayette (3/6/93) Sophomore of the Year (1979-91) 115 ...... 71-67 vs. Eastern Washington (11/22/00) -1st win at TAMUCC 1991 ...... Cedric Yelding 150 ...... 77-62 at Savannah State (2/13/02) 200 ...... 96-53 vs. Central Baptist (2/17/05) Senior of the Year (1979-91) 248 ...... 81-78 vs. Northwestern State (3/11/07) - Southland Championship 1989 ...... Jeff Hodge 250 ...... 76-56 vs. Grambling (11/17/07) 300 ...... 74-61 at Arkansas (11/29/09) Player of the Year (1977-present) 306 ...... 69-67 vs. Troy (1/16/10) - USA all-time wins record 1989 ...... Jeff Hodge 321 ...... 80-76 at Western Kentucky (2/3/11) - 100th Sun Belt win All-Tournament Team 1988 ...... Junie Lewis 1989 ...... Gabe Estaba ...... Jeff Hodge ...... Junie Lewis 1991 ...... Boobie James ...... Kevin McDonald ...... Cesar Portillo 2008 ...... Demetric Bennett 2009 ...... DeAndré Coleman ...... Domonic Tilford The Arrow Ledger Year School Overall Conference Finish Postseason 1987-88 South Alabama 15-14 8-6 4th 1988-89 South Alabama 23-9 11-3 1st NCAA Tournament 1989-90 South Alabama 11-17 5-9 T-6th 1990-91 South Alabama 22-9 11-3 1st NCAA Tournament 1991-92 South Alabama 14-14 9-7 T-5th 1992-93 South Alabama 15-13 9-9 T-6th 1993-94 South Alabama 13-14 9-9 T-6th 1994-95 South Alabama 1-3 0-0 — 1999-00 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 13-13 — — 2000-01 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 14-14 — — 2001-02 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 12-15 — — 2002-03 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 14-15 — — 2003-04 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 15-11 — — 2004-05 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 20-8 — — 2005-06 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 20-8 — — 2006-07 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 26-7 14-2 1st West NCAA Tournament 2007-08 South Alabama 26-7 16-2 T-1st East NCAA Tournament 2008-09 South Alabama 20-13 10-8 T-3rd East 2009-10 South Alabama 17-15 8-10 5th East 2010-11 South Alabama 12-16 6-10 T-4th East

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (8) 134-91 14-2 1 Southland Championship South Alabama (12) 189-144 102-76 3 Sun Belt Championships Career Totals (20 yrs) 323-235 116-78 - - 2011-12 South Alabama Men’s Basketball >> 26 ARROW’S RECORD VS. OPPONENTS

Team W L First Meet Last Meet Team W L First Meet Last Meet Team W L First Meet Last Meet Air Force 0 2 12/9/03 1/21/04 Houston Baptist 4 0 12/2/07 12/12/10 Portland State 1 1 1/2/00 12/23/00 Alabama 1 2 3/17/89 12/1/10 Howard 1 0 12/29/06 12/29/06 Prairie View A&M 8 1 2/27/91 1/9/06 UAB 6 8 1/21/88 11/23/10 Howard Payne 1 0 12/17/02 12/17/02 Presbyterian 1 0 2/25/08 2/25/08 Alabama State 3 0 12/8/87 12/20/89 Huston-Tillotson 3 0 2/23/05 12/9/06 Providence 0 1 11/26/88 11/26/88 Albany State 1 0 1/15/01 1/15/01 Illinois 0 1 12/1/01 12/1/01 Purdue 0 1 12/22/06 12/22/06 Albany 0 1 1/17/00 1/17/00 Indiana 0 1 12/8/89 12/8/89 Rice 0 1 11/14/09 11/14/09 Alcorn State 6 0 11/25/03 12/21/10 IPFW 4 2 2/3/03 2/15/06 Sacramento State 1 2 1/3/02 11/15/09 American 1 0 12/29/93 12/29/93 Iowa State 0 1 12/22/99 12/22/99 Saint Louis 1 1 12/7/91 12/5/92 Arkansas 1 5 1/1/89 11/29/09 Jackson State 2 0 11/27/90 11/30/91 Saint Mary’s (Calif.) 0 1 12/18/05 12/18/05 Arkansas at Little Rock 7 5 1/16/92 3/5/11 Jacksonville 13 4 2/11/88 12/29/07 Sam Houston State 2 3 12/1/00 3/1/07 Arkansas State 5 6 2/1/92 12/30/10 James Madison 2 2 1/6/90 12/30/05 Samford 1 0 12/21/99 12/21/99 Auburn 1 1 11/27/87 12/21/91 Kansas State 0 1 12/20/03 12/20/03 San Diego 2 0 12/3/89 11/23/07 Baylor 3 1 1/4/92 12/4/04 Kent State 1 1 11/24/04 1/2/07 San Diego State 0 2 1/4/01 1/8/02 Belmont 2 2 1/22/00 2/12/01 Lamar 2 6 1/9/92 2/22/07 San Francisco 1 1 12/17/01 1/5/02 Bethune Cookman 1 1 2/3/00 2/22/01 Lipscomb 1 1 1/30/02 2/18/02 San Francisco State 1 0 12/30/87 12/30/87 Binghamton 2 0 3/1/03 1/4/04 Longwood 2 0 2/12/05 2/4/06 San Jose State 1 0 11/24/89 11/24/89 Birmingham Southern 1 0 12/28/00 12/28/00 Louisiana Tech 3 3 12/5/87 2/19/94 Savannah State 8 0 12/13/02 12/29/05 BYU 0 1 1/6/01 1/6/01 Louisiana at Lafayette 5 9 1/25/88 1/30/11 Schreiner 2 0 2/15/00 2/2/04 BYU-Hawaii 1 0 12/16/87 12/16/87 Louisiana at Monroe 3 2 2/2/08 1/15/11 South Florida 9 3 2/1/88 12/18/06 Brown 1 0 12/30/06 12/30/06 Louisville 0 4 1/4/88 12/4/10 Southeastern Louisiana 2 0 2/10/07 3/8/07 Butler 0 1 3/21/08 3/21/08 Loyola-Chicago 0 2 11/29/01 12/3/02 Southern Illinois 1 1 12/8/90 12/9/91 Cal Poly 2 0 11/26/00 1/8/01 LSU 0 2 12/14/02 11/28/10 Southern Miss 5 6 1/19/88 11/17/10 UC Davis 2 0 12/17/05 11/29/08 Maine 1 0 11/28/08 11/28/08 Southern Utah 0 1 12/10/94 12/10/94 Centenary 7 1 1/29/00 2/22/03 Marshall 1 1 11/30/88 12/29/89 Spring Hill 3 0 12/28/08 11/12/10 Central Arkansas 1 0 1/13/07 1/13/07 Maryland 0 1 1/4/06 1/4/06 Stephen F. Austin 3 1 12/2/87 2/28/07 Central Baptist 3 0 2/6/03 2/17/05 McNeese State 4 0 12/14/87 3/9/07 Stony Brook 1 1 1/15/00 2/23/00 Central Florida 3 0 1/11/88 2/24/92 Miami (OH) 0 1 11/22/07 11/22/07 Sul Ross State 2 0 11/17/00 11/16/01 Central Michigan 1 0 11/20/10 11/20/10 Michigan 0 1 3/19/89 3/19/89 Texas 0 2 12/16/00 12/5/01 Charlotte 4 5 1/9/88 1/13/91 Middle Tennessee 4 6 12/20/91 2/5/11 Texas A&M 2 2 12/29/90 12/13/03 Chattanooga 1 1 12/30/93 11/25/07 Mississippi 0 2 11/13/07 11/18/08 Texas A&M-International 3 0 11/22/03 11/21/05 Chicago State 1 1 1/19/04 1/1/05 Mississippi State 1 2 12/2/06 12/13/08 TCU 2 0 11/27/04 12/22/05 Cincinnati 0 2 2/22/92 1/2/93 Missouri 0 1 12/10/05 12/10/05 Texas College 2 0 12/10/01 11/16/06 Cleveland State 0 2 12/29/00 2/5/01 Missouri State 0 1 12/3/05 12/3/05 Texas Southern 2 0 1/12/04 12/17/04 Coastal Carolina 1 1 12/3/88 1/24/90 Missouri-Kansas City 1 2 3/2/88 1/14/02 Texas State 2 2 11/28/00 2/15/07 Concordia 1 0 11/19/05 11/19/05 Mobile 2 0 12/9/09 12/27/10 Texas Tech 1 1 11/24/99 12/18/00 Creighton 0 1 12/17/90 12/17/90 Monmouth 1 0 11/20/06 11/20/06 Texas-Arlington 2 0 1/20/07 2/19/07 Denver 4 3 12/21/01 2/20/11 Montana State 1 1 12/6/99 12/18/99 Texas-Dallas 1 0 1/11/00 1/11/00 Detroit 1 0 11/25/06 11/25/06 Morehead State 0 2 12/7/02 12/6/03 UTEP 1 1 12/8/012 2/18/03 Drake 1 1 12/29/03 1/10/05 Morgan State 1 0 12/27/02 12/27/02 Texas-Pan American 14 6 1/11/92 2/27/06 Eastern Wash 2 0 11/22/99 12/4/99 Murray State 1 2 12/28/90 2/23/04 Texas-San Antonio 5 1 11/28/99 2/24/07 Evansville 0 2 12/19/87 12/14/94 UNLV 0 1 12/17/06 12/17/06 Trinity 2 0 11/27/02 12/6/05 Fairfi eld 1 0 11/25/88 11/25/88 New Hampshire 0 1 12/9/89 12/9/89 Troy 6 5 12/14/93 2/10/11 Florida 1 0 12/22/09 12/22/09 New Orleans 10 7 12/10/88 2/4/10 Tulsa 0 2 11/26/05 11/21/09 Florida A&M 1 0 11/22/08 11/22/08 Nicholls State 2 0 3/1/89 2/8/07 Utah 0 1 3/15/91 3/15/91 Florida Atlantic 6 3 1/2/08 2/27/11 Norfolk State 1 0 12/19/06 12/19/06 Utah Valley State 2 2 1/20/05 2/11/06 Florida International 7 1 1/16/08 1/22/11 North Texas 3 4 12/17/91 2/17/11 Valparaiso 0 2 12/12/99 12/7/00 Florida State 1 3 12/14/88 11/22/04 Northern Colorado 4 0 2/7/04 1/28/06 Vanderbilt 0 1 11/29/07 11/29/07 Fullerton State 1 0 11/22/02 11/22/02 Northern Illinois 0 1 12/29/04 12/29/04 VCU 5 4 1/2/88 3/3/91 Gardner-Webb 1 1 1/17/02 2/2/02 Northwestern State 1 0 1/11/07 1/11/07 Wayland Baptist 1 0 12/28/01 12/28/01 Georgia Southern 1 1 12/30/03 12/18/10 Northwestern 0 1 2/14/05 2/14/05 West Florida 1 0 11/10/07 11/10/07 Georgia State 1 0 11/26/09 11/26/09 Northwestern State 1 1 12/9/94 3/11/07 West Virginia 1 1 12/7/92 12/9/93 Grambling 1 0 11/17/07 11/17/07 Oakland 1 1 12/28/02 1/27/03 Western Kentucky 13 12 1/16/88 2/3/11 Hawai’i 0 1 11/24/02 11/24/02 Oklahoma State 0 4 1/8/03 11/29/06 Wiley College 1 0 2/9/05 2/9/05 Hawai’i-Loa 1 0 12/5/90 12/5/90 Old Dominion 7 3 1/14/88 11/28/04 Winthrop 1 0 1/22/01 1/22/01 Hofstra 1 0 11/20/93 11/20/93 Oregon State 0 1 1/4/00 1/4/00 Wisconsin 0 1 3/16/07 3/16/07 Houston 0 2 1/7/06 2/7/06 Portland 0 2 1/6/00 11/22/00 Wright State 0 1 12/2/89 12/2/89

2011-12 South Alabama Men’s Basketball >> 27 ASSISTANT COACHES ASSOCIATE HEAD COACH JEFF PRICE Pikeville (Ky.) ’81 First Season fi nish was enough to earn Price the Southern Conference competition. During that season, Lynn put together a 20- Coach of the Year Award. game winning streak, the longest in the nation, and had In his 10 years in Statesboro, Price totaled 165 the best overall record in Division II. wins, third-most in school history, and a .553 winning As an assistant and recruiting coordinator under percentage, which ranked fi fth-best in the school’s re- Arrow at South Alabama from 1989-93, the Jaguars cord books. He won 20 or more three times in his fi nal six claimed the 1991 Sun Belt Conference championship and seasons at the helm and guided the program to the 2006 earned a trip to the NCAA Tournament. National Invitation Tournament. He also served as assistant coach at his alma ma- In 2007-08, Georgia Southern posted a 20-12 over- ter, Pikeville (Ky.) College (1981-82), Georgia Southern all record and a 13-7 mark in league play. The 13 SoCon (1982-83, 1986-87), Union (Ky.) College (1983-85) and A familiar face will be on the bench for the Uni- wins were the third-most in school history and the high- Washington (1985-86, 1987-89). versity of South Alabama men’s basketball program as est since GSU joined the conference in 1992. Price earned Price earned his bachelor’s degree in business ad- former assistant coach Jeff Price joined the staff as the the Whack Hyder Coach of the Year honor, given to the ministration from Pikeville College in 1981. associate head coach in August 2011. top college coach in the state of Georgia. Price, who was an assistant at South Alabama from Ten diff erent players earned All-Southern Confer- 1989-93 under current head coach Ronnie Arrow, spent ence distinction under Price’s watch, including 2006 THE PRICE FILE the previous season as head coach at West Virginia Wes- Player of the Year and All-American Elton Nesbitt. leyan where he led the Bobcats to a 19-11 record and a Price’s appointment at Georgia Southern ended a COLLEGE EXPERIENCE trip to the NCAA Division II National Tournament. six-year stay as head basketball coach at Lynn University South Alabama Prior to his one-year stint at the Buckhannon, in Boca Raton, Fla., where he led the Fighting Knights to Associate Head Coach ______2011-PR W.Va. school, Price was a scout for the Los Angeles Clip- an overall record of 136-42 and six consecutive national West Virginia Wesleyan pers organization. postseason tournament appearances. Head Coach ______2010-11 An accomplished collegiate head coach, Price has After accepting an off er to start the Lynn program Georgia Southern a 318-188 overall record in 17 seasons, which includes from scratch in March 1993, Price successfully built one Head Coach ______1999-09 eight 20-win campaigns, eight trips to the postseason of the top collegiate programs in the nation. Lynn (Fla.) and two coach-of-the-year honors. In addition to the Fighting Knights’ .764 winning Head Coach ______1993-99 In his one season at West Virginia Wesleyan, Price percentage, which ranked as the winningest program South Alabama led the program to its second-ever trip to the NCAA Tour- in the state of Florida over that six-year span, Lynn ad- Assistant Coach ______1989-93 nament and the second-largest turnaround in the na- vanced to national postseason play all six years of its Washington tion. The Bobcats were 8-21 the year before and 38-105 existence – three NAIA and three NCAA Division II ap- Assistant Coach ______1987-89 in the previous fi ve. pearances. Georgia Southern Price orchestrated another revival at Georgia Price averaged nearly 23 wins per season while Assistant Coach ______1986-87 Southern. The Eagles were in the midst of six straight at the helm of the Lynn program, guiding his teams to Washington non-winning seasons and a combined 29-61 (.322) re- 23-7 (1993-94), 20-10 (1994-95), 16-11 (1995-96), 28-3 Assistant Coach ______1985-86 cord in league play before his arrival. It took one year to (1996-97), 22-7 (1997-98) and 25-6 (1998-99) records. Union (Ky.) College In 1997 he was named NCAA Division II National transform Georgia Southern into a winning team as Price Assistant Coach ______1983-85 Coach of the Year after the Fighting Knights rolled to a and the Eagles went 16-12 overall and 10-6 in the South- Georgia Southern 28-3 mark, becoming the fi rst school in NCAA history to ern Conference in 1999-2000. The second-place division Assistant Coach ______1982-83 reach the national semifi nals in their fi rst season of NCAA Pikeville (Ky.) Assistant Coach ______1981-82

PLAYING EXPERIENCE Pikeville (Ky.) College (two years) 1979-81 (guard) St. Petersburg (Fla.) Junior College (two years) 1977-79 (forward)

EDUCATION Pikeville College B.B.A., Business Administration, 1981

PERSONAL Married to the former Jody Wadsworth The Price Family: Abigail, Jody, Jeff and Jaxson Has a son, Jaxson (13), and a daughter Abby (4)

2011-12 South Alabama Men’s Basketball >> 28 ASSISTANT COACHES ASSISTANT COACH MICHAEL FLOYD Murray State ’99 Fifth Season In high school at McGill-Toolen, he averaged 21 points, THE FLOYD FILE fi ve rebounds, three assists and three steals as a junior to help lead the team to Class 6A state tournament. He was an all-state and all-county player for the Yellowjackets. COLLEGE EXPERIENCE South Alabama Floyd graduated from Murray State in 1999 with a bach- Assistant Coach ______2007-PR elor’s degree in sociology. He is married to the former Texas A&M Corpus-Christi Poppy Hogsed and has three daughters, Peyton (11), Assistant Coach ______2006-07 Micah (4) and Matalie, born Feb. 3, 2010. Alabama Southern CC Head Coach ______2005-06 Troy Former Jaguar and Mobile native Michael Floyd enters Assistant Coach ______2004-05 his fi fth season as an assistant coach on the USA staff . Alabama In his fi rst year back with the program, he helped the Graduate Assistant Coach ______2002-04 Jags earn an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament Spring Hill after compiling a 26-7 overall record — the win total Assistant Coach ______2000-02 was the highest in school history — and a 16-2 mark in the Sun Belt Conference. His eff orts also helped USA PLAYING EXPERIENCE claim the league’s East Division championship during the Murray State (two years) regular season. 1996-99 (forward) South Alabama (two years) Floyd spent the 2006-07 season as an assistant coach 1994-96 (forward) with Ronnie Arrow at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. There, the Islanders went 26-7 and 14-2 in its fi rst year in the EDUCATION Southland Conference. TAMU-CC earned the conference’s Murray State University automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament where it took B.S., Sociology, 1999 second-seeded Wisconsin to the limits in the fi rst round. PERSONAL Prior to going to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Floyd was the Married to the former Poppy Hogsed head coach at Alabama Southern Community College Has three daughters, Peyton (12), Micah (5) and for one season. In his only year guiding the Eagles, they Matalie (b. Feb 3, 2010), a son Preston (b. May 18, compiled an 18-12 mark and recorded a second-place 2011) and a stepdaughter, Emily (11) fi nish in their division.

Floyd starting his coaching career as an assistant at Spring Hill from 2000-02 before gaining additional ex- perience at Alabama. He spent two years as a graduate assistant with the Crimson Tide before returning to full- time status as an assistant at Troy for the 2004-05 sea- son. While at UA, he helped the Tide to a two-year record of 37-25 and two berths in the NCAA Tournament which included a trip to the 2004 Elite Eight after they picked up victories over Southern Illinois, Stanford and defending NCAA champion Syracuse. The Crimson Tide’s run Floyd’s second year would come to an end with a loss to eventual tournament winner Connecticut.

Floyd played for Arrow at South Alabama from 1994-96, averaging 7.7 points as a freshman. He transferred to Murray State after his sophomore year, helping the Rac- ers to the NCAA Tournament both seasons he was there. MSU went 29-4 his junior campaign, as he scored 10 points in its NCAA Tourney contest against Rhode Island, before posting a 27-6 mark in his fi nal season of colle- The Floyd Family: Peyton, Matalie, Michael, Poppy, Micah and Emily giate eligibility.

2011-12 South Alabama Men’s Basketball >> 29 ASSISTANT COACHES ASSISTANT COACH DOMINIQUE TAYLOR Texas A&M-Corpus Christi ’07 First Season Taylor proctored and instructed students in the exercise physiology lab, reviewed and assisted student assign- THE TAYLOR FILE ments and provided help with lab experiments. COLLEGE EXPERIENCE South Alabama Taylor earned three varsity letters at TAMUCC from 2005- Assistant Coach ______2011-PR 08, after redshirting his freshman campaign, and was a part of three 20-win teams. As a sophomore he was a Neosho County Community College member of a squad that posted a school-record 26 vic- Assistant Coach ______2009-11 tories, won the Southland Conference regular season and tournament titles in its fi rst year of membership and PLAYING EXPERIENCE Head coach Ronnie Arrow reached out to a familiar face earned a bid to the 2007 NCAA Tournament. Texas A&M-Commerce (one year) when he needed to fi ll a spot on his coaching staff in 2008-09 (guard) June 2011. Active in community service, Taylor has participated in programs that encourage young people to read and Texas A&M Corpus-Christi (four years) Arrow turned to one of his former players, Dominique was a volunteer for the Conquer the Coast bicycle race. 2004-08 (guard) Taylor. In 2004 he was awarded the St. Thomas Aquinas Leader- ship Scholarship from Aquinas (Mich.) College and was a EDUCATION Taylor, who previously served as assistant coach at Neo- member of the Grand Rapids Junior Rotary Club. Texas A&M-Commerce sho County Community College, played three seasons for M.S., Sports Studies, 2009 Arrow and assistant coach Michael Floyd at Texas A&M- Corpus Christi from 2004-07. With the Jaguars, he will Texas A&M-Corpus Christi work primarily with the guards and provide scouting B.S., Exercise Science, 2007 reports for opponents during the season.

The Grand Rapids, Mich. native has spent the last two seasons at Neosho County where he helped lead the Panthers to a 20-win season in 2009-10 and coached six players that went on to NCAA Division I schools, including current Jaguars Antione Lundy and 2011-12 signee Trey Anderson. Lundy was a 2009-10 National Junior College Athletic Association All-American and Anderson was a fi rst-team all-region selection.

The 2009-10 Panthers were the top rebounding team in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference, including Lundy’s league-leading 13.7 average, and fi n- ished tied for third in the KJCCC Eastern Division with a 12-6 mark.

Taylor served as recruiting coordinator and assisted with all aspects of the program, including on-the-court coaching, practice planning, academic progress, travel planning and scheduling. He also was involved with team public relations, fundraising and promotional ac- tivities.

In addition to his coaching duties at NCCC, Taylor was an adjunct faculty member where he taught undergraduate courses in personal training and coaching basketball.

As a student at Texas A&M-Commerce he served as an assistant in the Department of Health and Human Per- formance where he aided in exercise testing research in Dominique Taylor the fi elds of biomechanics, motor learning and controls.

2011-12 South Alabama Men’s Basketball >> 30 ASSISTANT COACHES DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS CHRIS COKER North Alabama ’94 Fifth Season A 1994 graduate of North Alabama with a bachelor's THE COKER FILE degree in education, Coker began his coaching career at Baldwyn High School in Baldwyn, Miss. During his three- COLLEGE EXPERIENCE year stay, he served as head coach of the junior varsity South Alabama and junior high teams while assisting with the varsity Director of Basketball Operations __ 2007-PR team. He also served as head coach of the varsity softball West Alabama team. Assistant Coach ______2001-07 Texas A&M-Kingsville Coker gained his fi rst collegiate experience in 1997 as a Assistant Coach ______1999-01 graduate assistant at West Alabama while he earned a West Alabama Chris Coker is in his fi fth season on the South Alabama master’s degree in continuing education. Graduate Assistant Coach ______1997-99 Basketball staff . In his role of director of basketball oper- ations, he is responsible for most of the off -court activi- Coker is married to the former Christal Compton of HIGH SCHOOL EXPERIENCE ties of the players and coaches, including overseeing fi lm Clarksdale, Miss. The couple has three children – Jacob Baldwyn (Miss.) High School exchange, travel, summer camps, recruiting and public (13), Ava (5) and Ana (4). Varsity Boys’ Assistant Coach _____ 1994-97 relations functions. Junior Varsity and Junior High Head Coach Prior to coming to USA, Coker spent six seasons as an as- EDUCATION sistant coach at West Alabama, and he also coached two University of North Alabama years as an assistant at Texas A&M-Kingsville. From 2004 B.S., Education, 1994 until his departure from UWA, he served on the NABC's University of West Alabama Division II Assistant Coaches Committee, providing in- M.S., Education, 1998 sight to college basketball from that perspective. PERSONAL Married to the former Christal Compton Has one son Jacob (13), and two daughters Ava (5) and Ana (4)

The Coker Family: Christal, Chris, Ana, Ava and Jacob

MEN’S BASKETBALL MANAGERS

Casey DyessTavaris Ezell Emil Johnson T.J. Vigneulle Josh Wrenn

2011-12 South Alabama Men’s Basketball >> 31 SUPPORT STAFF ASSISTANT STRENGTH AND ASSISTANT ATHLETIC TRAINER CONDITIONING COACH Matthew Brown Joey Choron Indiana State ’06 South Alabama ’02 Third season Second season Matthew Brown was promoted Former University of South Ala- from graduate assistant to a full-time bama baseball standout Joey Choron is in position on USA’s athletic training staff his second season overseeing the strength during the summer of 2008 and is cur- and conditioning program for the men’s rently in his sixth year at South Alabama. basketball team. He is responsible for working with the Choron, in his fourth season overall school’s men’s basketball and men’s golf at USA, also heads up the strength and programs. conditioning program for volleyball and Brown came to the University of women’s golf, and assists with football. South Alabama from Indiana State Uni- His role includes overseeing all workouts and writing in-season and off -season versity. For two seasons, Brown served as the athletic trainer for the baseball team at programs for each team. Choron consults with players to ensure they maintain proper USA before working with the men’s basketball team. During his time at ISU he worked nutrition and body weight. with all sports but spent his last year working exclusively with the men’s basketball He also manages the intern schedule and assignments. team and assisting with the baseball team. Prior to the return to his alma mater, Choron worked at Sportplex of Mobile as Brown earned his Bachelor of Science degree in athletic training from Indiana an assistant manager. There he managed the membership sales team and the weight State in May 2006. He earned his master’s degree in exercise science at South Ala- room staff , in addition to serving as a personal trainer for young athletes. His role also bama. extended into the sales realm with a focus on increasing memberships. In addition to his work at Indiana State, Brown spent two summers as a medi- An accomplished player on the fi eld, Choron set records at both the junior and cal provider for summer camp athletic training services at the University of Wisconsin- senior college levels. While at Gulf Coast Community College he tied the school’s home Whitewater. run record as a sophomore and was named to the Florida Junior College All-State Sec- He is a certifi ed member of the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, the South- ond Team. east Athletic Trainers’ Association, and the Alabama Athletic Trainers’ Association. He continued his prolifi c career at South Alabama where he tied the school’s Originally from Logansport, Ind., he and his wife Shirley reside in Mobile. single-season home run record with 21 in 1997 en route to second team all-conference honors. His power numbers carried over into the Sun Belt Tournament, setting new marks for home runs (5) and RBI (12) in a single tournament. He was named Sun Belt Tournament Most Valuable Player and to the 1997 NCAA All-South Region Team in Ba- ton Rouge, where he led the Jaguars to within one game of the College World Series. Choron parlayed his success into professional contracts with the Chillicothe Paints (1999-00) and the London Werewolves (2001) of the independent Frontier League. After his playing career concluded, he was hired as an assistant varsity baseball coach at Theodore High School in Theodore, Ala. He served as the Bobcats’ hitting coach and infi eld instructor. Choron earned a B.A. in business management from South Alabama in June 2002.

SUPPORT STAFF

Victor Cohen Bobby Harper Debbie Snow Mitchell Center Equipment Coordinator Administrative Manager Assistant

2011-12 South Alabama Men’s Basketball >> 32